The Royals could win it all or completely tear it down in 2017 and here's why

CBS Sports | Nov 23

The 2017 Major League Baseball season is an unwritten book, one sure to have plenty of twists and turns. We still don't know all the characters -- well, at least we don't know what characters will be on which teams in many cases. We do know that there will be 30 teams and all of them intriguing in their own way. Perhaps the most intriguing?

The 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals.

Why?

Because I can see them anywhere from the 2017 World Series champs to the worst record in baseball.

Sure, we could say that about any team, but it's realistic here.

How the Royals could win it all

We honestly don't have to delve that far into hypotheticals. This team isn't all too different from the one that won the World Series in 2015. The likes of Alcides Escobar, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain and Salvador Perez are still in prime age territory among position players. Alex Gordon is 32, so a bounce back season is possible.

On the mound, Danny Duffy was excellent as a starter for a stretch. Yordano Ventura is frustrating, but he's still only 25 and has immense upside. Ian Kennedy is fine as a mid-rotation guy and Jason Vargas is back from Tommy Johns surgery.